The Stuart Cottage Pantry serves 75 to 90 households every month, providing food for over 200 individuals in the area.

Coordinator Vi Jones says she appreciates the community’s support, but some donations were unusable in 2020 due to their hours.

“They cannot leave stuff outside the pantry door. If it sits out in the weather, we cannot use it. They can bring it when we’re open, or they can call and we’ll meet them up there. For a while, people were leaving food outside the door and if it sat out there in the rain and the snow, we can’t use it.”

The Stuart Cottage Pantry is open from 1:30 to 4:45 every Wednesday except the fifth Wednesday of any month. Patrons are asked to have their orders ready, the number of people in the family and ages of those individuals and their trunks open so food items can be put in. For more information, call 515-401-6511.